The general government debt at the end of February 2022 was 344.2 billion kuna (€45.7 billion), 4.1 percent up from February 2021, the central bank said on Friday.

Month-on-month, the general government debt did not change significantly, inching up only 0.3 percent from January.

The foreign debt went up year-on-year up by 5.2 billion kuna or 4.6 percent compared to February 2021, to reach 117.5 billion kuna (€15.6 billion), while the domestic debt amounted to 226.7 billion kuna (€30.1 billion), or 3.9 percent up year-on-year.

Analysts writing for the Raiffeisenbank Austria (RBA) newsletter noted that the debt is expected to continue increasing in absolute terms due to “growing financing needs,” primarily related to higher salaries demanded by unions of government employees, and also due to fiscal policies designed to combat inflation and rising fuel prices.

“Economic recovery will continue, albeit at a slower rate, but it will keep the debt-to-GDP ratio at a downward trajectory, this year and in the years to come,” state agency Hina quoted them as saying. The government deficit is expected to remain below 3 percent of GDP.

(€1 = 7.53 kuna)